Department of Transportation statistics indicate that fires are one of the major causes of fatalities in automobile accidents. In turn, a major cause of such fires is shorted electrical circuits in the automobile, causing sparks which ignite gasoline vapors. A shorted automobile battery, as where sheet metal is forced against both battery terminals during a collision, is a frequent cause of such fires, because the high current available from such devices facilitates sparking. Thus, a need has existed for a device suitable for prevention of battery shorts. Further, since gasoline vapors may permeate a vehicle following a collision or other accident, a device suitable for preventing electrical shorts elsewhere in the vehicle has been needed.